


Strangers When We Meet

by EverythingButColdFire



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Bicycle, Car Friendly Infrastructure, Cinephile Remus, Cinephile Sirius, Crying, Demisexual Sirius Black, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Meet-Cute, meet ugly, motorcycle, movie theater, portrait of a lady on fire - Freeform, they just love movies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:01:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28892568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverythingButColdFire/pseuds/EverythingButColdFire
Summary: Remus is biking to the movie theater and meets a hot stranger on a motorcycle at a piece of car friendly infrastructure. You'll never guess who it is.Takes place in February of 2020, a time before covid when we could go to movie theaters and be within 6 feet of people we don't live with.I selfishly wrote this for myself but you might like it if you watch a ton of movies and love Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 16
Kudos: 29





	Strangers When We Meet

**Author's Note:**

> This contains discussion of Portrait of a Lady on Fire, so that part might not 100% make sense if you haven't seen the movie. But I kept it vague because I didn't want to spoil the movie if you haven't seen bc its really fucking good lol
> 
> WARNING: Implied/Referenced Suicide

Remus was biking down the street on his way to the movie theater. This part of town unfortunately had little to no bike infrastructure, but it was the most direct route to the theater. Thankfully it was a residential area, so the cars were sparse and usually weren't going too fast, so he didn't constantly feel like he was in imminent danger of being flattened by a car.

He was moving quite fast, as he had left a little later than he had planned, but it was the opening night of Portrait of a Lady on Fire and he was determined to make the 7pm showtime. He was very specific about seating and he wanted to make sure he was there early enough to claim his favorite seat, towards the front in the dead center of the screen. 

He had been waiting for this movie to come out for months, the critics had been raving about it on all the film podcasts he listened to for the entire last half of 2019, which was truly unfair since there was literally no way for him to see it before the February release date. Plus he'd had a terrible day at work and an artsy gay romance was exactly what the doctor ordered.

He was almost at the theater when he saw a red light coming up and cursed under his breath, rolling to a stop behind a man on a motorcycle who was waiting at the light. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the handlebars and watched as the cross street light changed to red. Their light stayed red, but the oncoming traffic had a protected turn, any minute now the light would be green and he would be on his way to 2 hours of cinematic bliss.

The cross street light turned green.

"Fucking hell!" he shouted. Curse this damn bike infrastructure, he was used to stoplights not recognizing his bike as a car, but for one to not recognize a full motorcycle was just ridiculous. He grumbled under his breath as he dragged his bike up onto the sidewalk and violently punched the crosswalk button, so the light would deign to let 2 non cars pass.

"Car friendly infrastructure, amirite?" the motorcyclist said with a disdainful chuckle.

"Ugh tell me about it, this part of town is so shitty for cycling," Remus said as he turned to look at the man. He felt his breath catch in his throat. This man was beyond gorgeous. He was wearing the Traditional Biker Garb of boots, jeans, and a leather jacket. His long black hair was poking out from beneath his helmet. He could see sharp cheekbones and a friendly expression through the gap in his helmet. 

Remus suddenly felt like a huge dork in his loud reflective yellow jacket and multiple flashing lights. At least he was Safe and Visible.

"Hey maybe if we're right next to each other, the sensor will see 2 headlights and think we're a car," the man said with a grin.

Remus shook himself out of his flustered state and dissolved into laughter, "Is that even how they work?"

The man shrugged, "No idea."

"Well I guess it's worth a shot," Remus said, still chuckling as he dragged his bike back into the street to stand next to the stranger. A moment of silence passed as they both looked up at the light.

"It's like they specifically designed the city to discourage biking," Remus grumbled.

"Hah, tell me about it. I wish I was as brave as you, I have a bike collecting dust upstairs. I'm not brave enough to take it out on the streets around here," the stranger said sheepishly.

Remus was taken aback and was about to point out the irony of a motorcyclist saying he wasn't brave enough to ride a _bicycle_ , when the light turned green. He blinked and looked at the stranger again.

"Well, after you," Remus gestured with a smile.

The stranger smiled and _winked_ , "Drive safe, friend." He fired up the bike and rode off into the night with a loud roar, leaving Remus reeling. 

Remus rolled up to the theater, locked up his bike, and walked into the lobby, still thinking about the Hot Stranger and lamenting that their encounter had been so brief and he didn't get a chance to talk to him properly. The encounter faded from his mind as he passed the concession stand, looking forward to seeing this supposed critically acclaimed masterpiece.

He had made it before the trailers had started, so he was feeling pretty good about his chances of good seating. He walked into the theater and made his way to his usual seat towards the front, but paused, frowning when he saw someone was already occupying it. The person must have noticed him lurking at the end of the row and looked over. Remus felt his stomach drop to the floor.

"It's _you_!" the stranger said. The Hot Stranger. From the motorcycle. He smiled warmly and gestured to the seat next to him. Remus panicked for a moment but he obliged, feeling his heart hammering in his chest.

"Are you following me?" the stranger asked, his eyes twinkling.

"No! No, I swear, I bought my ticket for this showtime 2 weeks ago!" Remus spluttered. He was having difficulty looking at him, he was even more attractive when he wasn't wearing his helmet and he could see his whole face, even in the low light of the theater.

"Relax, I'm just messing with you. My name is Sirius," the stranger said, extending his hand.

"I'm Remus," he said, taking his hand and shaking it briefly as his pulse increased exponentially.

"Come here often?"

Remus let out a laugh, "Yeah actually, I come here like 3 times a week."

"You're kidding! So do I! Are you a film critic or something?"

"No, I just really love movies."

"Me too! My friends won't come with me anymore, they don't go for obscure artsy shit," Sirius waved a hand towards the screen.

"God, same! They don't even trust my recommendations anymore! Granted I might have told some of them to see Border as a joke last year, but I didn't think they would actually do it."

Sirius cackled, “You didn't! That's hilarious!! Ok but Border was actually good. I mean it was very strange and truly like nothing I've ever seen before, but I genuinely enjoyed it. I definitely wouldn't expect the casual filmgoer to appreciate it though."

"I felt the same way! It was actually quite moving. And I definitely didn't see that plot line with the child prostitution coming. But now they won't trust me! I've been raving about Parasite since I saw it in September and they didn't see it until after it won best picture!"

"That's so upsetting! Parasite is undeniable, I screamed when it won best picture. Well I've heard nothing but good things about this one, I'm so excited to finally see it!"

Remus grinned, "Seriously! The critics have been singing its praises for months!"

"I know!! I was fired up to see it in the summer, I can't believe they made us wait this long. I've been avoiding spoilers, I haven't even seen the trailer."

"Same here, mate," Remus said with a dopey grin. He couldn't believe how well they were hitting it off. It was normally hard for him to keep a conversation going, but with Sirius, it felt natural, like talking to an old friend.

"What were your favorite movies from last year?" Sirius asked.

"Oh my god, there were so many good ones. Well Parasite obviously, it's a stone cold masterpiece. I loved Booksmart, that shit was hilarious. And I guess I could relate to the main characters, I was definitely a swotty wet blanket in school."

"I can see that," he eyed him appraisingly. "Not in a bad way!" he added quickly, "It’s - I think it's a good look," he mumbled, blushing. 

Remus's indignation at being called out for looking swotty was suddenly drowned by a sea of butterflies from the implication that Sirius liked how he looked and it was honestly just too many emotions, so he decided not to comment and pressed onward. 

"I also really liked Pain and Glory, but I think that might just be because I have sciatica, so the chronic pain aspects really resonated with me. I also loved Woman at War, if you've seen that. I'm a sucker for quirky niche films about environmental activism. And it's not everyday that you see a middle aged female protagonist in an actiony film."

Sirius blinked at him, he had on an expression he couldn't quite place. Remus groaned internally as he felt a familiar shameful plummeting in his stomach. He was talking about too many obscure movies again and alienating his audience. He was about to apologize for being such a loser when Sirius barked a laugh and said, "Holy shit Remus, I've never met anyone else who's seen Woman at War and Pain and Glory. They were both excellent, I've been wanting to talk to someone about them for ages but no one I know has seen them."

Remus was so relieved that he laughed a little, "Tell me about it, I see so many movies that no one is on my level.”

“I know exactly what you mean.”

“How bout you? What are your favorites?" Remus asked.

Sirius grinned, “I loved Knives Out. Watching terrible rich people get what's coming to them is my absolute favorite. I also loved The Peanut Butter Falcon -"

"Mmm! What a wholesome tale!"

"Right?? It was so wholesome! I love movies about acceptance and kind people helping people! I also liked Uncut Gems, that was An Experience," Sirius said emphatically.

"Holy shit, Uncut Gems was the most stressful movie I've seen since Whiplash, I cannot believe he let it get so bad!"

"I know!! He just made so many bad choices! It was refreshing to watch someone make worse choices than me. Also Adam Sandler was so perfect for that role, no one else could have done it."

"That's what I've been saying!"

Sirius was looking at him with a strange expression again, "I'm really glad I met you, Remus."

Remus's heart fluttered, "Likewise, Sirius."

Sirius smiled back but fell silent as the movie started. Remus felt like he could fly. He couldn't believe his luck. This random hot stranger, Sirius, was somehow on the same level as him with movies AND they frequented the same theater. Maybe he could ask for his number so they could see movies together. He loved seeing movies by himself, but it would be nice to go with someone every now and then. He was very attracted to this man, but if he wasn't into that, he would be down to just be his friend and talk about movies.

The movie was. Phenomenal. Truly a work of art. A meticulously crafted masterpiece. The dialogue was so beautiful and poetic and profound in a way that Remus had never seen before on film. The moment he knew he was really watching something special was the moment where we first saw Heloise's face. It gave him chills. _"I've dreamt of that for years." "Dying?" "Running."_ He heard Sirius make a sort of gasping strangled sob. 

The ending was nothing short of spectacular. When she said _"turn around"_ Remus gasped and clapped his hands over his mouth. It took his breath away. He noted that Sirius had a similar reaction. As the Vivaldi music swelled and the camera focused on Heloise, her emotion, Remus got mad tingles all over and couldn't control the tears as they fell down his face, his breathing ragged. It was exhilarating. It was so rare that a film affected him so deeply that he ugly cried uncontrollably in a theater.

As the credits rolled Remus suddenly realized with a hot wave of embarrassment that he was ugly crying next to a very attractive man and panicked for a moment before he realized Sirius was also ugly crying. Actually even harder than he was. He took a few deep, ragged breaths, trying to pull himself together as he fumbled in his pocket for a package of tissues. He took one and then wordlessly offered the package to Sirius, who let out a rather loud sob as he accepted them.

They sat in silence for a few minutes as they got their shit together.

"Goddam, that was some good shit," Sirius finally said thickly.

"You said it mate," Remus replied weakly.

"Holy fucking shit, that was real close to home," Sirius muttered.

Remus cocked his head in question, "Which part?"

"I erm - I was actually erm - my parents arranged a marriage for me. To my cousin," Sirius mumbled.

 _"What?"_ Remus was gobsmacked. He didn't know that was still a thing. That people actually did.

"I know, it was super fucked up. I actually ran away from home because of it. Well, there were plenty of other reasons, but that was the final straw. I haven't seen them since."

"Holy shit, I'm so sorry that happened to you! Christ, I didn't realize that sort of thing still happened." They stood up and walked toward the exit as the credits finished.

"You'd be surprised," he said darkly. "My family was basically royalty. Super rich, a ton of political influence. Extremely strict. Impossible expectations. They're all real pieces of shit for the most part."

"Damn, good thing you got out of there, sounds like you definitely made the right choice."

"Yeah, I - I just wish -" he faltered. Remus noticed his eyes were welling up with tears again.

"I'm sorry, I don't why I'm telling you all this," he choked out.

"Don't apologize, it's perfectly alright! You can tell me. Or not, whatever you want," Remus smiled. They were outside in the crisp cool night. The sky was perfectly clear, the moon shone brightly overhead.

Sirius took a deep shuddering breath, "I had a brother, he was a year younger than me. He was an idiot, he actually bought into our family's bullshit. After I left, he had to do everything. Work for father's company. Marry our cousin."

Remus braced himself. He thought he could see where this was going. He felt so bad for him that his chest physically hurt. 

"I guess it was all just too much. He - he killed himself. I heard about it on the fucking news." His voice broke at the last words. 

"Holy fucking shit, I'm so sorry," Remus whispered.

Sirius inhaled raggedly, "It's alright, I mean, it's not alright, but it happened almost ten years ago, I'm usually fine, just sometimes it - sometimes it still hurts. The movie just brought it all back." There were tears running down his face.

Remus was quite unsure of what to do. He barely knew this man but he couldn't stand seeing him in so much pain. Hoping desperately he wasn't going to make him uncomfortable, he did the only thing he could think of and gently pulled him into the softest, most comforting hug he could muster.

He felt Sirius tense for a moment before he relaxed against him, wrapping his arms around Remus's back and resting his chin on top of his shoulder. Remus could feel his deep shuddering breaths against his chest.

Sirius choked out something that sounded like, "Holy shit I'm so fucking sorry."

"Don't be, it's fine, you're fine, don't even worry about it," he said softly, hoping he could hear in his tone that he was being completely genuine. 

They stood like that for a long moment, Sirius sobbing softly and Remus holding him gently. He refused to be the first one to let go. His mum had told him once that if someone really needs a hug, always wait for them to let go first, just hug them as long as they need it.

Finally Sirius's breathing evened out and he pulled back, his eyes downcast. "I'm really sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't be sorry, you're good," Remus said, pulling the tissues out of his pocket again and offering them to the other man.

"I just, I know I just met you, but I feel like I can trust you. That probably sounds dumb."

"It's not dumb, I've been told I have a very welcoming vibe," he smiled. "And sometimes it's easier, talking to a stranger, you know? There's no baggage. You never have to see them again."

He snorted, "I suppose you never want to see me again. I wouldn't if I were you."

"That's not what I said," Remus said quickly. He took a deep breath, "I was actually going to ask if you wanted to see another movie sometime?"

Sirius looked at him sharply, "Really?"

Remus withered under his gaze, his confidence waning, "Yeah, I - I like you - if you don't want to that's fine, I just thought -"

"I'm demisexual," Sirius blurted suddenly.

Remus blinked, "O that's -"

"It's where you -"

Remus cut him off, "I know what it means, you don’t have to explain it."

"O. Right," he looked surprised and relieved. "I like you. I mean I think I like you, it's honestly just too soon to tell."

Remus opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get the words out Sirius blanched and said, "O fuck were you even asking me out? Sorry, I didn't mean to assume, just people are always trying to ask me out but its really rare that I actually want them to and I never know how to handle it, and I've found it's best if I just tell them right away -"

Remus assured him, "That's completely fine, I understand, I fully respect that. It doesn't have to be a date or anything, no pressure. I just think you're really cool and honestly I just want to talk about movies."

Sirius visibly relaxed, "O great, perfect, me too. Thanks for understanding, a lot of people don't get it, they think it's a fake sexuality."

Remus frowned, "Of course it's real, why would anyone go to the trouble of claiming a sexuality so obscure and misunderstood that you basically need a prepared speech and a powerpoint to explain it if it's not real?"

"Remus," Sirius clapped him on the back, grinning widely, "You're alright."

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Strangers When We Meet by David Bowie


End file.
